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My Generosity Experiment
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Author Archives: Sasha
The end of the line
One day in the not-so-distant future, you’ll get there. The end of the line. The top of your organization. The top of your field. Nowhere else to go, because you’ll have arrived. Most likely, that day won’t be within striking … Continue reading
A wasted day
Think about it: on a day when you swing for the fences, you might swing and miss. A miss means a complete miss, a whiff, an air-ball, and all the associated jeering (we think) from the peanut gallery. Wouldn’t it … Continue reading
I am generous when…
My daughter made this poster for a project in her Kindergarten class. The assignment was to finish the sentence: “I am generous when…” In case it’s hard to read: “I am generous when I have a lot of books and … Continue reading
Save it for another day
A good friend told me a beautiful story recently. She was at a 7-11 and got to the register only to be told that the guy in front of her had paid for her food and her coffee. Apparently the … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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Giving, halfway
Look down a list of donors and you’ll never be able to figure out the intention behind a donation: who gave expecting something in return – who is keeping a running balance sheet in his head of credits and debits … Continue reading
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I hate my microwave
I moved last year, which was a lot of work but has ultimately been great. One of the small drawbacks of the kitchen in my new house is that there’s no good space for a microwave, so our only criterion … Continue reading
Man’s search for meaning
Based on last week’s post, Jeff kindly sent me to a wonderful four-minute lecture excerpt by Viktor Frankl. Even through the grainy recording you can see the twinkle in Frankl’s eye and his passion for humanity, with all its flaws … Continue reading
Posted in meaning
Tagged Goethe, hope, meaning, optimism, possibility, Viktor Frankl
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Not happiness, meaning
A colleague of mine shared this recent article from The Atlantic titled “There’s More to Life than Being Happy” by Emily Esfahani Smith. The article describes recent research on the difference between living a life in pursuit of happiness and … Continue reading
Posted in Happiness
Tagged Emily Esfahani Smith, happiness, meaning, The Atlantic, Viktor Frankel
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Leverage or control
Ever funder, rightly, loves “leverage,” as in “each dollar I put in brought in another four dollars of additional funding.” What’s not to love? Except of course that getting leverage means you’re giving up control. There are more folks around … Continue reading
No Ask?
The fundraiser typically sweats about when the perfect moment is to make “the ask.” It’s a Goldilocks mentality: not too soon, not too late. Broadly speaking that is right. But not if it means there’s no a sense of purpose. … Continue reading
